Maybe someone was looking out for them after all, even though it didn’t feel much like it at the moment.
“Can you get around the jamming?”Delia asked, although she suspected she already knew the answer.
“I’m trying.”Pru’s voice was still even enough, but Delia caught the underlying note of frustration anyway.“I can’t tell if they’re blocking everything, or just me.I have to guess it’s the latter, because first responders would know something was up if all their radios suddenly went dead.”
Were demons usually that technologically sophisticated?The infernal entities Delia had encountered so far preferred more direct methods of creating chaos, and they also tended to be much more physical beings, not much interested in technology.The mere fact that these ones could be using these kinds of electronic warfare tactics disturbed her more than she wanted to admit.
What else might they be capable of?
With that unnerving thought floating through her mind, Delia went to her contacts and found Olivia’s number, her thumb hovering over the call button as she tried to figure out what she could possibly say.Her cousin would definitely be in the air by now, probably somewhere over the Great Plains, but the plane should have wifi.Maybe Delia could reach Olivia, convince her to get off the plane during her layover in Denver or wherever it might be, convince her that some vague “vendor problems” were serious enough to warrant canceling the wedding and sending her straight back to Chicago…or maybe to that possible elopement in Cancun.
It was a long shot…but it was the only shot they had.
The phone rang twice before Olivia answered, her voice crackling with static and sounding harried.“Delia?I can barely hear you.We’ve been hitting a bunch of turbulence.”
A silent thank-you to the universe that she’d been able to get through at all, and then Delia said, “Olivia, listen to me.I really need you to think about postponing your arrival by a day or so.”
“Are you crazy?Why?The wedding is in two days, and we have a ton to do.”
Those everyday concerns — wedding preparations, vendor meetings, a family dinner — seemed absolutely surreal when contrasted with a demonic invasion.How could she possibly explain to her cousin that Las Vegas was currently being used as the focal point for a ritual that could tear holes in reality itself?
“There’s been an, um, situation with some of the vendors,” Delia said, hating herself for the lie but knowing she couldn’t tell her cousin the truth.Not yet.Not over a crackling phone connection while Olivia was trapped thirty thousand feet in the air.“Some kind of issue with permits.It might be better to wait until things settle down.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Olivia said, her voice crackling and distorting.Silence fell for a second or two, and Delia wondered if the connection had been cut off.But then her cousin went on, “The people at the chapel said they would take care of all that stuff.It’s part of the package we bought.”
Maybe it was.Delia would be the first to admit that she didn’t know all the ins and outs of wedding planning in Las Vegas, or what a specific venue might offer its clients.
“It’s something to do with the new management at Angel’s Dream,” Delia said desperately, even as she reflected that those words weren’t a complete lie.“They’ve really dropped the ball.I just don’t want you to get here and realize your wedding isn’t going to happen because they screwed up.”
Static crackled across the connection, and again Delia thought they’d lost the call entirely.Then Olivia’s voice came back, even more strained than before.
“Delia, what aren’t you telling me?You sound scared.”
Because Iamscared,she thought.I’m scared shitless because demons are trying to turn your wedding into the opening ceremony for Hell on Earth, and the man I love is being held hostage by an evil being who just happens to be a lord of Hell.
“I just think it would be safer for everyone,” she said instead.
Another burst of static, and then Olivia repeated, “‘Safer’?What kind of vendor problems have anything to do with safety considerations?Delia, you’re freaking me out.”
The energy within her surged again, a white glow rippling out from the hand that held the cell phone, and suddenly, Delia could sense every supernatural presence in the city.Vinea at Angel’s Dream, ancient and powerful and utterly without compassion.The six other demons Ty had mentioned, circling like vultures.And somewhere beneath it all, something else — a presence that felt familiar in the worst possible way.
Something that felt like Caleb, but wrong.Twisted.As if his demon blood was being forced to the surface against his will.
“Delia?”Olivia’s voice sounded very far away.“Are you still there?”
She forced herself to focus on the immediate problem.“Yes, I’m here.Look, can you please trust me on this?Just deplane during your layover and go back to Chicago.”
A huff of breath came through the phone’s speaker.“Delia, it’s a nonstop flight.Besides, my parents’ flight lands half an hour after ours.Alec’s family is already in the air, too.Even if I wanted to stop all this — which I don’t — it’s too late.”
Of course it was.Delia closed her eyes, the weight of responsibility settling on her shoulders, heavy as a lead blanket.In less than two hours, Olivia’s and Alec’s families would be in Las Vegas, walking into a supernatural nightmare they couldn’t even begin to imagine.
Time for Plan B.
“Okay,” Delia said, then opened her eyes and looked over at Pru and Ty, both of whom were watching her with obvious concern.“When you land, I’m picking you and taking you straight to Alec’s house in Henderson.We’re not going anywhere near Angel’s Dream Wedding Chapel.”
“Why would we?”Olivia asked, sounding puzzled.“I thought we already agreed to sit down and talk about alternate places to have the ceremony after Alec and I got to Vegas.”
Of course.So much had happened so fast, Delia couldn’t seem to keep anything straight.“You’re right.I’ll see you at the airport.”
